'Help us find a new 70ft maypole for our village'

For more than 150 years Gawthorpe's maypole has anchored the village's May Day celebrations. But, with the pole showing its age, organisers are searching for a replacement to ensure the tradition continues.

Measuring 70ft (21m) and weighing roughly the same as a family car, the current maypole was installed on 8 March 1986.

For more than 40 years, it has stood tall and proud in the village near Wakefield, with annual celebrations involving dozens of school children performing elaborate dances alongside it on the village green.

But after years exposed to the elements, its condition means its time is limited.

Benjamin Hitch-Bramley, secretary of Gawthorpe Maypole Committee, says: "Maypoles don't last forever. It's getting old, tired and it's showing signs of age.

"There's no immediate danger - it isn't used in the traditional sense and by that I mean it isn't actually danced around and pulled upon.

"However, we want to avoid being in a situation where it becomes dangerous and we have to quickly remove it."

But sourcing a maypole and getting it installed is not an easy job.

The first recorded one appeared in 1850, followed by a 70ft (21m) pine tree in 1875.

The current pole was acquired after a plea by Cecil Hitch, then president of the committee and Hitch-Bramley's grandfather, was answered by an unusual source.

Step forward the Yorkshire Electricity Board, who were using wooden pylons at the time to transmit electricity over the moors and happened to have a spare one to donate.

The company arranged for it to be collected in Morley but told the committee it would need to arrange transportation to the village - several miles away.

And so some 30 men, women and children turned out to pull the pole, with the help of a small trailer, all the way to Gawthorpe - stopping off at pubs along the way to quench their thirst.

Hitch-Bramley explains: "Times have changed since we got this maypole.

"We've done some initial scoping and what that's identified is that poles of this size are incredibly hard to come by.

"They are often reserved for national infrastructure projects and that means for a committee such as ours, getting our hands on something of this size is really difficult."

But determined they are, because without a maypole, there can be no dancing.

At Gawthorpe Community Academy boys and girls spend months rehearsing intricate maypole dances for the village's May Day celebrations.

For many of them it's a family tradition, with their parents and grandparents having performed when they were young.

Their teacher, Debbie Hardaker, who comes from a military background, expects absolute precision, making sure every move is kept in perfect time.

She says: "I do have really high expectations. If you make a mistake, it's fine, but I'm not coming in to fix it, so they learn very quickly."

To the untrained eye, the dances look effortless, but the complex plaiting routines take time to master and a single wrong move can send everything off course.

Ten-year-old dancer Alice explains: "The funny bit is when someone lets go of a ribbon - everyone gasps because you're not meant to do that. Everything is meant to be perfect."

Since taking on the role 23 years ago, 57-year-old Hardaker has seen numbers rise dramatically - from around 16 pupils to as many as 60 children now wanting to take part.

She says when the children perform, they start with an easy routine.

"The barbers pole - people who understand maypole dancing will know this one is the slowest and easiest, but then we go on to the hardest which is the single plait. Now that one is for the brave."

Aside from the dancing, the maypole is central to the core beliefs of the school.

"The colours of the ribbon represent what we stand for - courage, respect, resilience - and the interlinking of the ribbons means we work together to produce something perfect

"It's everything to the community and it's everything to this school."

Meanwhile, to secure the traditions future, Hitch-Bramley says it will take a collective effort.

The committee is appealing for anyone who can help - whether by supplying a suitable pole, providing equipment to transport and install it, or offering practical or financial support.

He says every maypole the village has ever had has come through "generosity and local expertise" and that spirit is needed again.

"It isn't just a pole," he says.

"It's a cornerstone of who we are. Without a maypole, Gawthorpe simply wouldn't be Gawthorpe."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.